This 2022 edition of Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report assesses achievements in the global quest for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030. At today’s rate of progress, the world is still not on track to achieve the SDG 7 goals by 2030. Advances have been impeded, particularly in the most vulnerable countries and those that were already lagging.

This edition was prepared as the COVID-19 pandemic and its broad social and economic disruptions entered their third year. Some degree of economic recovery has taken place, but the pace of progress on the SDG 7 target is expected to slow down because of new challenges from evolving COVID variants and an energy crisis provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The report considers the consequences of the evolving pandemic, along with results from global modeling, to determine whether current policy ambitions can meet the SDG 7 targets and to identify the additional actions that may be needed. The report also examines the investments required to achieve the goals. It presents scenarios drawn from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook 2021, and the International Renewable Energy Agency’s World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway.